Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Top shelf showdown
Channel 4, 8pm CRISPS and chocolate together, in one bar? This is the stuff dreams are made of.
And that’s not the only mindblowing combo to be presented in “treat week”, the final week in the tasting room as small businesses pitch for a spot on Aldi’s supermarket shelves – there’s a Yorkshire pudding beer on the menu too. Managing director of buying, Julie Ashfield, holds the power as she chooses which product is right for the chain.
She says: “With treats there are so many opportunities for creativity. But how will they surprise us and bring the X factor?”
Chris Bavin and Anita Rani host as six businesses peddle their wares. Maria presents her milk chocolate bar stuffed with crisps (yes even cheese and onion), an idea she got while sitting on her sofa in lockdown.
“It sounds like the most wonderful thing that’s ever been done,” says Julie, while Chris warns: “It should not work.”
A couple from Cheshire bring their straight-from-the-dairy ice cream, hoping to crack the £1.3billion ice-cream market. There’s a craft smoked rum from Harry and Katherine, an idea that rose from the ashes of disaster when a fire burned down the family barn.
The Yorkshire pudding beer boasts half a pud in every bottle, but will it taste as good as it sounds? Scottish vegan biscuits look tempting, and there are handmade artisan chocolates made by a unique workforce.
Just let us have the lot.